tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5669027158753952.post897516180957990378..comments2024-01-28T00:29:16.605-08:00Comments on Susan M. Schultz's Blog: On Teaching the Difficultiessusanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16934944559857117395noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5669027158753952.post-66423748199406358722010-04-01T13:50:33.926-07:002010-04-01T13:50:33.926-07:00Interesting stuff. I always wonder why we tend to...Interesting stuff. I always wonder why we tend to have a sense of cognitive conquest, where, in math terms, we seek to eliminate "no solution" sets in search of a "complete" understanding of texts. And I think at this point is the only time when I actually enjoy Dadaist poetry. ZOOOOOM!!!mpakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11719731670656410752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5669027158753952.post-75506499642404846012010-03-31T00:12:13.924-07:002010-03-31T00:12:13.924-07:00Susan, I had similar discussions re prose lately w...Susan, I had similar discussions re prose lately when teaching Rushdie to sophomores--we talked about letting go of the need to understand/master, and why a writer might deliberately want to leave the reader feeling de-centered. Considering these were undergraduates, almost all non-English majors, it was a challenge, but a fruitful one, I think.Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13300350111010535035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5669027158753952.post-52870488973497949072010-03-30T13:46:52.554-07:002010-03-30T13:46:52.554-07:00Yes, in fact one student said her reaction to Howe...Yes, in fact one student said her reaction to Howe's work was to think, "I could never get away with THAT in a workshop." To which I responded that the problem lies more in the workshop than in Howe's work. The problem is that risks are not taken in workshop. Although having an open forum helps, where the point is not to correct but to question, to nudge, to suggest. Thanks for writing, Patrick.susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16934944559857117395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5669027158753952.post-49518744440239287002010-03-30T13:17:31.194-07:002010-03-30T13:17:31.194-07:00Understanding is to stand under, or undertake not ...Understanding is to stand under, or undertake not the poem but the self under the circumstances of the poem. The narrative of overcoming attributed to art works of any kind is, in my estimation, a function of institutional forms of "critique." I had a very ambitious creative writing student show me a piece before and after it had been workshopped the other day, and the latter version was drained of every gesture implied the very need for understanding. It was an explication. The more I try to see the benefit of the workshop model (not there there is only one, but...) the less I trust it. So I often point to the idea of "experiment" not as a manner or style, but as a method whereby the poem teaches one how to read it, rather than a set of poets teaching another how to write it. But this hasn't helped much.Patrickhttp://www.kenningeditions.comnoreply@blogger.com